MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Menomonee Falls State Rep Janel Brandtjen, Germantown State Rep Dan Knodl, and Thiensville Village President Van Mobley are the Republican candidates running to be the next state senator for the 8th District.
The seat was recently vacated by Republican Alberta Darling who was in the position for over three decades.
The winner of Tuesday's primary will face off against Democrat Jodi Habush Synykin who is running unopposed in the primary.
The Republican candidates got together for one of their last vote pushes at a forum at Village Bowl in Menomonee Falls. On the heels of Gov. Tony Evers' budget address, we asked them how they'd like to see the historic surplus spent.
"He has a lot of policy in there, it's not fiscal. So that has to come out," Rep. Knodl said.
Knodl said he was happy to see that Evers included a tax cut in his budget, however, believes more can be done with tax relief.
One area the representative is willing to spend more in is the Department of Corrections.
"I would vote tomorrow for an increase in dollars to go to criminal justice and detention," Knodl said.
Rep. Brandtjen was adamant about the surplus being turned into tax cuts.
"What has to happen is that we have to have a long-term plan to return this money to taxpayers and look at reducing rates so we do keep people," Brandjten said.
She believes she will be able to work with the governor when it comes to veteran benefits.
"Making sure that they have schooling for our new veterans, and also to make sure that they're being cared for properly as they get to older years," she said.
Like his opponents, Village President Mobley is also focused on tax cuts.
"He's frittering away the surplus. I think we need to shoot for the transformative abolition of the state income tax," Mobley said.
However, he said he does agree with the governor's plan to increase shared revenue for local governments.
"For the municipalities and police and fire protection in particular. I'm a village president so I know the struggles that villages and cities have and townships as well. I would really like to work with him on that," Mobley said.
All three Republican candidates said they will support whoever wins the primary in hopes of keeping the district red.